Please add to this if you can, I personally take a lot of comfort from reading poems such as these and if poetry can help anyone else.....

"I had my own notion of grief.
I thought it was the sad time
That followed the death of someone you love.
And you had to push through it
To get to the other side.
But I'm learning there is no other side.
There is no pushing through.
But rather,
There is absorption.
Adjustment.
Acceptance.
And grief is not something you complete,
But rather, you endure.
Grief is not a task to finish
And move on,
But an element of yourself-
An alteration of your being.
A new way of seeing.
A new definition of self."

"Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I did not die.

I am the song that will never end.
I am the love of family and friend.
I am the child who has come to rest
In the arms of the Father
who knows him best.

When you see the sunset fair,
I am the scented evening air.
I am the joy of a task well done.
I am the glow of the setting sun.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I did not die"

Everything seems so bleak right now without you by my side.
The past eight months were so very hard, remember how we cried?
You tried so hard to stay with me but it wasn't meant to be.
Now I'm left without you and the future's hard to see.

You are the owner of my broken heart, my life, my love, my friend.
I don't know yet how to carry on or if my grief will end.
I promise I will try so hard to learn to live again,
To let our families and our friends guide me through this pain.

When I'm sad I know you'll be there, helping me to cope.
And when I'm happy you'll be there too, filling me with hope.
I will always cherish the memories of the wonderful life we had,
All of the memories happy ones, because there were no bad.

It is an honour and a privilege to call myself your wife, to have comforted and cared for you in the final months of life.
I love you with all of my heart and soul, and as hard as it was then,
I know that if I had to I would do it all again.

As I sit in heaven and watch you everyday,
I try to let you know with signs I never went away.
I hear you when you’re laughing, and watch you as you sleep.
I even place my arms around you to calm you as you weep.
I see you wish the days away, begging to have me home.
So I try to send you signs so you know you are not alone.
Don’t feel guilty that you have life that was denied to me.
Heaven is truly beautiful, just you wait and see.
So live your life, laugh again, enjoy yourself, be free.
Then I know with every breath you take
You’ll be taking one for me.

Plus this one that Georgia read at her Mum Tracy's funeral only recently:-

A Mother's Love

A Mother's love is something
that no on can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it
or take that love away . . .
It is patient and forgiving
when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
even though the heart is breaking . . .
It believes beyond believing
when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty
of the rarest, brightest gems . . .
It is far beyond defining,
it defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
like the mysteries of creation . . .
A many splendored miracle
man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence
of God's tender guiding hand.

Thank you to those sharing and for the comfort it brings. Annette xxxxx

oops - Wasn't quite finished - Jeni, it took me three days to write as I wanted it to be personal to us (and I cried for England - just as I am reading these now).
Annette, the two poems you have posted are absolutely beautiful. Look forward to more!
Thank you
Linda G
xxxx

Joining you in tears today Linda, I have read and re-read your amazingly worded, tender, loving poignant poem for Stewart. I think you have a bit of a talent here!

Thank you Annette for the poems you've added to the collection. I loved the first one in particular, it's something that I really believe in. Only problem is we are all going to spend an awful lot of money on kleenex on this thread!xxx

Thanks PW and SandraW, at it again now reading Sue's poem, industrial sized loo rolls required I think!

Sue, it is wonderful. I have seen separate verses before, used as part of obituaries in the local press but I have never seen the complete work. Very stirring and emotional. It's strange how poetry can reduce you to tears and yet soothe and comfort at the same time.
Thank you .
xxxx
Linda

"Feel no guilt in laughter, he knows how much you care, Feel no sorrow in a smile, that he's not there to share, You cannot grieve forever, he would not want you to, he'd hope that you would carry on, the way you always do, so talk about the good times, and the ways you showed you cared, the days you spent together, and the happiness you shared, let memories surround you, a word someone might say, will suddenly recapture, a time, an hour, a day, that brings him back as clearly as though he was still here, and fills you with the feelings, that say he's always near, for if you keep those moments, you will never be apart, and they will live forever, safely locked within your heart"

I said to the man at the gate of the year
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown"
And he replied, "Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way"